Hover to see 800 Years of Logging
Logging of Kauri
Before European settlement, the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand eliminated large forested areas with fire (accidental or otherwise). They used kauri wood to build war canoes (waka). and dwellings with other native wood. When Europeans arrived in the 18th century, New Zealand forests were intensively logged and shipped internationally.
It is estimated that native forest cover decreased from 80% in 1000 AD to only 25% in 2005. NZ Department of Conservation estimates that native flora cover is lower than 15% in 2015. Hover over the map to the left to see the change from 1000 to 1840, and to view the current state of NZ Forest cover (2005) see below.
While current legislation allows only sustainable harvesting of native trees, forests once dominated by kauri on NZ's North Island were left vulnerable by the intensive logging of the last millenium.
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The map on the right shows the forest cover and type in New Zealand in 2005. Most of the native forests are now protected by the government.
Note the extreme loss in forest cover in the kauri habitat from the images above. Kauri only live in the north region of the North Island (red box), where urbanization, sprawl, logging, and dieback disease continually threaten kauri populations.
NZ Forest Cover 2005
